Indians Prospect Insider

The Arizona Fall League kicked off another season in the desert on Tuesday. The IBI's Tony Lastoria also descended upon the desert on Tuesday to take in some action. His thoughts on what he sees will come at a later date, but for now the IBI's Arthur Kinney takes a look at the good starts in the AFL for Francisco Lindor, Jordan Smith and Nick Maronde.

Indians president Mark Shapiro did an interview with Crain’s magazine on Tuesday on the state of the team and the plans he and Chris Antonetti have going into the offseason. The IBI's Jay Frierson recaps what Shapiro said about the current state of the team and their plans for the offseason.

The Indians went into spring training last year with a major question mark at third base. Fast forward 162 games later, and while Lonnie Chisenhall had a solid overall showing this season, his inconsistency both offensively and defensively leaves the Indians with a big question going into next season: Who is on third base? IBI newcomer Sam Camp makes his site debut with a look at the potential options to fill the third base void.

Welcome to the third annual edition of the IBI Awards! At the end of every year, we here at IBI vote on various categories relating to Cleveland baseball as we continue looking back on 2014 ahead of our 2015 offseason coverage. Today is the second installment of the IBI Awards, the Most Valuable Pitcher. Just like in the Most Valuable Hitter, a singular name stood out. To see where everyone not named Corey Kluber ranked, join Jim Piascik and the rest of IBI after the jump.

Fall is settling in as the temperatures begin to get cooler. Are you prepared for it? In this MLB News and Notes segment, the IBI's Andrew Zajac will be giving occasional reports on the latest news and rumors throughout the MLB. Today's piece focuses on the uncertainty surrounding the Detroit Tigers for next season, the Twins received permission to interview another managerial candidate, a possible trade partner for Giancarlo Stanton, and more.

With the offseason here there is going to be a lot of wishing, praying, hoping and demanding for the Indians to sign certain free agents, trade certain players and try and trade for others and change the roles of some players. Such is life during the Hot Stove season, a season which will kick off in just a few weeks shortly after the conclusion of the World Series. The IBI's Tony Lastoria looks at the rampant speculation that Jason Kipnis will move off second base and explains why he will stay put at the start of the 2015 season.

Welcome to the third installment of the IBI Awards! At the end of every year, we here at IBI vote on various categories relating to Cleveland baseball as we continue looking back on 2014 ahead of our 2015 offseason coverage. Today is the first installment of the IBI Awards, the Most Valuable Hitter. Unsurprisingly, one name stood above the rest, but to see how the rest of the votes fell out, join Jim Piascik and the rest of IBI after the jump.

The American League Championship Series is set as both the Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals finished off sweeps of the Angels and Tigers to advance a step closer to the World Series. The IBI's Jay Frierson recaps the action from Sunday as well as the news and notes from around the leagues.

The WAR Room is back again, bringing you the 2014 advanced stats for every Cleveland minor leaguer. With the minor league seasons at an end, we continue bringing you seasons in review, with today's featuring the 2014 Akron RubberDucks. This week we focus on the pitchers, with Jim Piascik breaking down the solid seasons of Joe Colon and Will Roberts, the dominant relief pitching of Shawn Armstrong and Giovanni Soto, and much more.

The Indians missed the playoffs but all was not lost this past season for them as they had many key developments and breakout performances throughout their roster. IBI newcomer Graydon Fox chimes in with his eight reasons that this past season was not a total loss for the team and that it was actually a productive year that sets them up well for 2015.

The Indians are once again home for the postseason. After just missing the playoffs there is some disappointment in their step back from an exciting 2013 campaign that saw them reach the playoffs. But IBI newcomer Kevin Sledz says that one big area the Indians received a lot of answers this season was in the starting rotation and that it sets them up well to compete for years to come.

Will you be watching college football or playoff baseball today? In this MLB News and Notes segment, the IBI's Andrew Zajac will be giving occasional reports on the latest news and rumors throughout the MLB. Today's piece focuses on the Braves retaining manager Fredi Gonzalez, another Indians coach is up for a managerial job, an update on the DBacks managerial search, and more.

This weekly feature piece here at the IBI specifically looks at some of the prospects that have maybe not had as much attention they deserve for a variety of reasons but who are interesting or are coming onto the scene. This week the IBI's Tony Lastoria takes a look at talented left-handed pitcher Thomas Pannone, an upside arm who had a nice season at rookie Arizona who could be a very interesting lefty pen option down the road or more. What kind of prospect is he? What does he throw? What kind of future does he have? Tony provides all the details...

The 2014 season may have ended with some disappointment with Cleveland missing the playoffs, but finishing with an 85-77 record and being in contention until the last weekend of the season is not all that bad. Before looking forward to 2015, first IBI is going to look back on 2014. Join Jim Piascik as he brings you part two of his roster rankings, running down every player who played on the major league team from #46 to #1.

Happy Friday! In this MLB News and Notes segment, the IBI's Andrew Zajac will be giving occasional reports on the latest news and rumors throughout the MLB. Today's piece focuses on the Twins narrowing down their managerial search, the Josh Donaldson rumor getting refuted, a team that could pursue Victor Martinez, and more.

In today’s Minor Happenings, the IBI's Tony Lastoria takes a look at the strides that shortstop Erik Gonzalez has made defensively and as a player overall and how he fits into things for the Indians long term. He also looks at the struggles that Cody Anderson went through this season, the problems that caused them and what he needs to do to correct them. In addition to that he looks at Sean Brady’s rise in the system and the next steps he needs to take to solidify his prospect status, some areas of concern with Francisco Lindor’s defense the Indians want to shore up, the emergence of Elvis Araujo as a left-handed relief option, and much more.

We are still several months from the 2015 Draft and the college baseball season is a long way off, but that doesn't mean people aren't already talking 2015 MLB Draft. Since the summer leagues are done and the showcase circuit is over, IBI draft guru Jeff Ellis decided to sit down and make his first draft big board. With the Indians holding two first round picks in next year's draft, it will make for a lot of possibilities with what they and other teams will do.

Just 24 hours earlier the world saw one of the best wildcard games to ever be played in MLB history. On Wednesday night, not so much. Madison Bumgarner was unhittable all game long as he got the four-hit shutout against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The IBI's Jay Frierson recaps the game and all the news and notes from around the league on Wednesday.

Over the next several weeks the IBI's Tony Lastoria will be providing year-end pieces like this for all of the Indians six minor league affiliates. With comments on 20-25 players for each team, these pieces are being broken up into two parts. In today's second part of his AZL review, Tony had a chance to sit down with Indians Assistant Director of Player Development Carter Hawkins to get the organization’s thoughts on the performance/development of some of the pitchers there such as Casey Shane, Shao-Ching Chiang, Justus Sheffield, Grant Hockin, Jared Robinson, Sam Hentges, Leandro Linares and over a dozen pitchers in total.

The 2014 season may have ended with some disappointment with Cleveland missing the playoffs, but finishing with an 85-77 record and being in contention until the last weekend of the season is not all that bad. Before looking forward to 2015, first IBI is going to look back on 2014. Join Jim Piascik as he brings you part one of his roster rankings, running down every player who played on the major league team from #46 to #1.

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!